painful

/ˈpeɪnfl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpeɪnfl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpān-fəl/ (ame, mw)

painful — adjective

  • painfulpositive
  • more painfulcomparative
  • most painfulsuperlative

1. making your body hurt, or causing strong emotional hurt, sadness, or shame.

1.形容詞B1
釋義

making your body hurt, or causing strong emotional hurt, sadness, or shame.

例句

The cut on Nina's heel was painful inside her new shoes.

painful + injury/body part

The bruise on Ava's ribs stayed painful for three days.

pattern: be painful for + time

同義詞
  • sore

    usually describes a hurting body part rather than an event or memory

  • hurtful

    mainly used for words or actions that wound feelings

  • distressing

    more formal and focuses on emotional upset

  • agonizing

    much stronger and suggests extreme pain

反義詞
  • painless

    describes something that does not hurt

  • comforting

    describes something that makes feelings easier rather than worse

文法句型

a painful cut/injury

a painful memory/loss

be painful

用法筆記

Often describes body parts, injuries, memories, and losses. Distinguish from sense 3, which usually describes an action or situation that is hard to do rather than something that directly causes pain.

常見錯誤

❌My leg is very pain after the game.
✅My leg is very painful after the game.
💡use painful as the adjective; pain is usually a noun.
❌The news was pain for her.
✅The news was painful for her.
💡after 'be', use the adjective painful.

2. so bad to watch or hear that other people feel awkward or embarrassed.

2.形容詞C1
釋義

so bad to watch or hear that other people feel awkward or embarrassed.

例句

The interview was painful to watch after Ben forgot every answer.

pattern: painful to watch

That fake laugh was painful to listen to during dinner.

pattern: painful to listen to

同義詞
  • embarrassing

    broader and can describe either your own mistake or something you watch

  • awkward

    weaker and often describes a social situation rather than bad quality

  • cringeworthy

    informal and strongly suggests second-hand embarrassment

反義詞
  • engaging

    keeps people's interest instead of making them want to look away

  • enjoyable

    pleasant to watch or hear

文法句型

painful to watch

painful to listen to

painful to hear

用法筆記

Most often appears in patterns like painful to watch, painful to listen to, and painful to hear. It usually describes a bad performance, speech, or social moment that causes second-hand embarrassment, not actual injury.

常見錯誤

❌The siren was painful to listen to because it was very loud.
✅The siren was unpleasant to listen to because it was very loud.
💡painful in this sense usually suggests embarrassment or very bad quality, not only noise.

3. hard to do or accept because it feels awkward, upsetting, or takes a lot of effo

3.形容詞B2
釋義

hard to do or accept because it feels awkward, upsetting, or takes a lot of effort.

例句

For Maya, admitting the mistake was painful in front of clients.

Sorting her father's clothes felt painful after the funeral.

同義詞
  • difficult

    the most general word and does not always suggest emotional strain

  • awkward

    often stresses social discomfort more than effort

  • unpleasant

    broader and weaker than painful

  • exhausting

    focuses more on draining effort than on discomfort or embarrassment

反義詞

文法句型

painful to admit

painful to finish

a painful decision/process

用法筆記

Common before a to-infinitive or with tasks such as admit, discuss, decide, and finish. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on the difficulty of the action or situation, not direct physical or emotional pain from a person or thing.

常見錯誤

❌It was painful for finish the form.
✅It was painful to finish the form.
💡painful is followed by to + verb, not for + verb.